
Last Friday, May 13, the President of Venezuela Nicolás Maduro signed a new decree establishing an economic emergency that extended the original decree made in January 2016, but which included something called a “state of exception” this time around.
The state of exception is intended to allow the government to take “exceptional” measures to control the country’s crisis, as well as to protect the Venezuelan people from whatever the government may consider a threat. But it’s still not clear what Maduro is going to do with such tremendous power.
What exactly is a state of exception and what does it allow Maduro to do?
Known also as a “restriction of constitutional gaurentees,” Professor of Administrative Law José Ignacio Hernández said he expects the new decree to restrict non-economic rights. In particular, freedom of movement, peaceful protest and freedom of speech. He now has the ability to sidestep the National Assembly, and there’s not reason to think that he won’t.
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